By Michael Carman
Peninsula Daily News
BREMERTON — Sequim’s Josiah Carter and Samantha Smith will join their boys and girls teammates at the Class 2A state golf tournaments next week in Spokane after earning runner-up finishes in district play at Gold Mountain Golf Club.
Carter shot a 13-over-par 85 from the championship tees on Gold Mountain’s Olympic Course to finish three strokes behind Olympic’s Roger O’Hara.
Carter will form a fearsome foursome at the 2A boys state tourney at Spokane’s Creek at Qualchan on Tuesday and Wednesday with the Wolves’ Blake Wiker, Paul Jacobsen and Andrew Vanderberg, who previously qualified for state after finishing first, second and fourth, respectively, at the Olympic League Championships earlier this month.
Smith tied for second, four strokes behind Bremerton’s Lily Gelhous, after shooting a round of 102 on the par-72 Cascade Course.
She will be part of a three-member Sequim girls group along with four-time state participant Alex McMenamin and two-time state qualifer Sarah Shea, who both qualified for state at the Olympic League tournament.
Two state alternates
Port Angeles’ Logan Kovalenko and Mathew Locke finished one shot shy of a tie for eighth place after shooting rounds of 100 in miserable conditions and will serve as first and second alternates, respectively to the 2A state tournament.
“Mathew had to tee off in the hail and rain and took a nine on his first hole that led to an 18-hole score of 100, one stroke off going directly to the state championship,”
“The two of them played another player from Olympic High School who also shot 100 for the alternate positions to state,” Roughriders coach Gil Stockton said.
“Logan birdied the playoff hole for the number one alternate position, Mathew parred the hole to go in as the number two alternate position.
“Generally, the scores for the district championship were high given the lousy weather at the outset. There was standing water and hail on the greens, and a very tough, long course from the championship tees.
“The guys showed terrific character given their play and look forward to the opportunity, if given, to play in the state championship. They both had a few disastrous holes but hung in there to finish as they did.”
Port Townsend qualified two boys for the 1A state tourney Tuesday and Wednesday at Sun Willows in Pasco, freshman Jacob Madison and senior Patrick Morton, along with freshman girls golfer McKenzie Lake.
Madison and Morton each shot rounds of 99 to finish tied for 13th. The top 15 boys players qualified for 1A state.
Lake will be the first Redhawks golfer since Jenny Grauberger placed fifth in 2011 to tee it up at state for Port Townsend when she plays in the 1A girls tournament at Horn Rapids in Richland on Tuesday and Wednesday.
She finished sixth Tuesday, posting a round of 110. The top nine girls advanced to the state tournament.
Chimacum golfers Logan Storm, Nate Miller and Cooper Bartl all participated at the district tourney but did not qualify for state.
Sequim’s Christiana Hoesel and Port Angeles’ Gilian Elofson also made districts but missed out on state berths.
